"WE made too many mistakes to overcome today," said OU coach John Musachio. "In spite of these mistakes, Russ Luxton had the ball in a tie game in the last inning, so we really had a chance to pull it out, but it wasn't meant to be."

Hager earned a no decision, striking out four and gave up seven hits. IPFW's Connor Lawhead (2-4) got the win in relief, working 2.1 innings, giving up one hit and no runs.

With the score tied 4-4 in the seventh inning, IPFW took the lead after a base hit, two wild pitches and scored on an RBI single by Clay Hathaway. The Golden Grizzlies' Mike Carson reached base on the bottom of the inning on a walk and advanced to second base on a wild pitch, but OU was unable to drive him in.

Theisen drove in two runs in the first inning on a two-out double as the Grizzlies led 2-0. The Mastodons scored in the second and fourth innings to tie the game.

After IPFW scored two runs in the fifth inning to take the lead, OU responded with two runs of its own on a Theisen two-out RBI single to left field. The Mastodons scored five runs, on nine hits and committed two errors, while the Golden Grizzlies scored four runs, on six hits and had two errors.

Game two was halted after six innings of play. IPFW leads 5-4 and the game will be continued tomorrow, followed by two games.